The Biden-Harris Administration recently issued a suite of new rules aimed at addressing water and air quality, reducing methane emissions, protecting environmental justice communities, and accelerating the nation’s...more
PM NAAQS: Already behind schedule is perhaps the mostly widely impactful rule change EPA has proposed in many years: a lowering of the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). EPA has...more
The National Association of Clean Air Agencies (“NACAA”) submitted June 22nd comments to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) in its docket addressing Proposed National Emission Standards for Hazardous...more
The Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has announced a new proposed rule that would strengthen the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants ("NESHAP") for Coal- and Oil- Fired Electric Utility Steam...more
EPA recently issued a proposed rule (“the Proposed Rule”) regarding the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), which regulate hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions from coal and gas-fired electric generating units (EGUs)...more
EPA has proposed to revoke the Trump administration finding in 2020 that it is not appropriate and necessary to regulate emissions of air toxics from coal- and oil-fired electric generating units. Instead, EPA proposes to...more
Since its creation under President Nixon five decades ago, EPA has, for the most part, been an independent agency utilizing the best science available, even where the science led it to policy results contrary to the...more
EPA filed a status report on October 15 in the slow-moving mercury and air toxics (MATS) litigation, which is now Murray Energy Corp. v. EPA, No. 16-1127 (D.C. Cir., filed April 26, 2016). The case is a challenge to EPA...more
In December 2011, the EPA announced the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), commonly referred to as the MATS rule. The MATS rule governs the emission of mercury from electric power...more
United States Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) sent a December 13th letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs: . . . expressing grave concerns regarding the...more
U.S. Army Corps Stands by Permit for Dakota Access Oil Pipeline - "The U.S. Army Corps said that a permit it granted for the Dakota Access Pipeline last year was environmentally sound, handing a setback to tribal and green...more
The federal lawsuit filed by twenty-three states challenging EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) is in the 8th inning, and things are not looking good for the challengers. Some background is appropriate. ...more
CONGRESS FINDS THE FORMULA TO REFORM CHEMICAL REGULATION - The Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) is the primary federal law by which the manufacture, import and use of chemical substances are regulated in the United...more
Environmental and Policy Focus - Supreme Court rejects new challenge to EPA’s air pollution rule - The Hill - Jun 13 - The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider a third request from a group of states to...more
In yesterday’s Part 1, we discussed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rules regulating emissions from existing and new stationary electricity generating units. In today’s post, we discuss EPA’s regulations regarding...more
On Wednesday, EPA published certain amendments to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in the Federal Register. EPA describes most of the changes as “technical corrections,” but there is one important substantive change. ...more
On February 9, 2016, in an historic and unprecedented decision, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) from implementing the Clean Power Plan (“CPP”) while the rule is challenged in...more
The Environmental Protection Agency's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) placed national limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants. The agency projected MATS to prevent 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700...more
On June 29, 2015, the Supreme Court cast serious doubt upon the future of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (“MATS”) by finding that the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) failed to adequately consider the costs of...more
In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that the EPA acted unreasonably when it refused to consider the cost of implementing its Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS). The MATS rule, issued in 2012,...more
The D.C. Circuit, by majority decision, upheld MATS, which requires coal- and oil-fired power plants to reduce emissions of mercury, arsenic, chromium, and other air pollutants. When the EPA adopted MATS in 2011, it did not...more
The late Ed Koch (former mayor of New York) famously used to ask his constituents “How am I doing?” Answering this question is also prudent (if not required) in evaluating environmental policies. Probably the most relevant...more